


if you're down, then so am i

by kinpika



Series: merde, je t’aime tant [11]
Category: My Candy Love
Genre: All under fluorescent lighting, And the revelation of how much you love someone hits you, F/M, Like a lightning bolt, Marriage Proposal, The best proposals are at 1am, a request from tumblr, in front of a coin operated washing machine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 00:39:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14905218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinpika/pseuds/kinpika
Summary: "What?""Marry me. I'm serious."





	if you're down, then so am i

Of course it had been mentioned before. Not the ring, the dress and suit, or even the venue. Never any specifics, like the colour of bridesmaid dresses or flowers. Or even what food was going to be served. 

Mentioned jokingly, down the school hallway by friends that passed them by. A simple passing thought that barely resonated with either of them (after all, it was _just_  high school, right?). They glared, Gigi feeling the burning of a blush on her cheeks, before returning her attention to Castiel’s kisses and mumbles of a date, later that week. 

Perhaps a little more seriously, one night, just Gigi and Rosalya the week out from graduation. In between talks of a month ago, next week, three years prior and what the next five years will bring. Clothes, plans, parents, _marriage_ , cars. Snuck in when least expected. Rosalya fawns, like she does over everything else, ring still firmly on her finger since last found. Gigi lies awake, thinking about parents, clothes, plans, cars… _marriage._ Twists her blankets around her fingers, and thinks ‘no… not yet’. 

It’s too definite, too final. She says so herself, to Alexy three months later. Rosalya was worked up, living vicariously through a woman who had hired Leigh to design and make her dress, so there was no conversation happening there. Alexy turns to her, firmly and soothingly. “Don’t force yourself to love him if you don’t want that sort of thing.” 

But that thought wanes and goes. Disappears behind a camera, behind video, covered in posters and signatures. Clambering onto the back of trains and buses at three, four, five in the morning, next destination: fame and fortune. Castiel holds her hand through all of it, never lets go, as they anchor each other. Rests his head on her shoulder as he tries to get some sleep in before the next meeting with his agent. Never brought up, as they’ve said the promises, exchanged the jewellery, got the matching tattoos. 

Did everything but cut the cake.

When suddenly it’s the last call. A month out of the confines of their apartment, beyond the safety of a furnished terrace and the small marks left behind, curtesy of Gigi. No longer just three day trips, maybe a week at most. Both of them this time, in hotels unfamiliar, breakfast and dinner organised through prepaid meals and the big warning of ‘don’t do anything to attract unwanted attention’. 

That’s when it comes rushing back to Gigi, as she stands before the washing machine, watching the dial click down to two minutes remaining. Like a punch to the gut, taking all the air out the room with it. Remembered her parents not approving of the move into Castiel’s apartment, citing it as inappropriate. Agatha’s not-so-subtle suggestions over lunch in the city. An offhanded comment from Nathaniel, and the side eye from Kentin. Little things spread out over months of both her and Castiel working towards careers. 

Beside her, Castiel was absently scrolling through his phone, as he had been doing for the last five minutes since he’d wandered down to the basement. Something about keeping on top of trends, or at least that was the explanation. Yet as Gigi stared at him, hair frizzy from the most recent shower, coupled with a growth on his chin from several days and bags under his eyes that gave her own a run for their money, she thought a halo formed from fluorescent lights around his head. Oh my god, she thinks, lightning bolt of a revelation making her tingle all over. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.

One minute left on the machine, and she can’t help herself. 

“Cassy?” Gigi asks, voice going up into a hushed question. A little worried of the next words out her mouth.

Castiel doesn’t quite stop scrolling, and perhaps he’d heard the hesitation in her voice, when he responds carefully. “Yeah, baby?” 

“Marry me.”

His reaction was slow, or maybe the world was just slowing down around them anyway. He pauses, visibly, thumb perched over the screen as if to flick up again. Wide eyed, confused. Staring at her like she’d hit her head - and maybe she had, just not realised it yet. “What?” Castiel asks simply, plainly, phone barely sitting in the palm of his hand now. Gigi thinks about how they couldn’t really afford a replacement if it breaks when it falls, and realises that doesn’t really matter anyway.

“Marry me,” she says, firmly, voice stronger and more assured. No more questions, or panicky thoughts. Four years together, and she’d never been more sure. “I’m serious.”

Continuing to look at her like she’d grown another head, Castiel finally puts his phone down at a safe distance. And then, Gigi watches as a blush crawls up his chest, neck, cheeks and ears. Every bit as pink as the colour his hair was fading too. “Oh my god.”

Now it was her turn to ask “what?” The washing machine dings, done! but she’s watching how Castiel covers his face, mumbling to himself. 

Not wanting to give herself time to freak out over the sudden proposal, Gigi ignores the way the machine buzzes once more, taking a few steps towards Castiel. With a certain amount of strength, she manages to pull his hands away from his face, and feels her legs go a little wobbly from the look on his face. And it wasn’t because of rejection.

Castiel was smiling broadly, looking up at her with an expression she didn’t quite understand. Pushing his hair back off his face, Castiel sits up straight, and laughs. “Why do you have to beat me to everything? Seriously, I can’t win here with you.”

“Huh?” Confusion was taking over, ending that burst of adrenaline quicker than she’d realised. He still hadn’t said yes, but the conversation was going a direction she didn’t understand. 

“Mercedes, I’ve been hiding a ring in my jacket for three weeks now. I was going to propose to you at dinner tonight.” While saying it gently, cupping her face in his hands, Castiel said it so plainly, like she should’ve cottoned on to the situation sooner. 

Gigi thought about it. And thought about it some more. Well, that made _sense_ , the more she realised just how carefully he’d been treating his jacket, and seemed to rifle through the pockets far more than usual before giving it to her to wear. “Oh,” is all she has to offer. _Oh_.

“It’s a nice ring too. Shame I can’t propose now,” Castiel teases, before he pauses. Narrows his eyes. “Do you have a ring for _me_?”

With a frown, Gigi felt her lower lip begin to jut out. “Not on me. But I saw a store down the road that sells mood rings.”

Castiel laughs. A full belly laugh, arms going to wrap around her, pulling her close. “You’re ridiculous,” he chuckles, complete with a kiss to her cheek. A few more comments on her being unpredictable and getting the better of him again, all of which would normally have made her smile, but he still hadn’t answered the question.

Winding her arms around his middle, Gigi buries her face in his chest, and asks quietly: “is that a yes?”

A deep inhale, and Gigi doesn’t see his face, but can hear the grin in his voice. “Of course it’s a yes.”


End file.
